Woopie!!!!

I accidentally (on purpose) opened one of my birthday presents early!

I've got a BIG SHOT!!!!!

Whoopee!!  

(My excuse for opening early was that I needed to check all the bits had been included and that it worked so I wasn't disappointed on my birthday.  Now there is no point packing it all back up so I might as well use it!)

That's all - now if anyone knows of any sources of free money so I can go on a spending spree buying dies and embossing folders I'd be most grateful if you'd share the details!!  xx

Thanks!

Cute Dog!

I found this cute dog digi stamp a week or so ago from here via Free Digital Stamps and I finally got round to colouring it and using it in a card. As you can see I went for an amazingly adventurous colour scheme of brown and .... a bit more brown - but I'm a real novice with Promarkers so the only way is up really I hope!  The papers are Papermania's Bird Song. 

I'm going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Craft Your Passion - Male Card or Project

Passion for Promarkers - One for the Boys

Do You Stack Up - Anything Goes

Woopsie Daisy - Lets All Get Cute

Easy Craft Projects - Something for the Boys

Bizzy Bec's - Sketch

Also before I go a big HI to my new follower Donna!

Thanks for Looking!



Gift Tag

Another day - yet another thing I'm trying.

Just a quick one here to show you something little I've made for no reason other than to have a go a paper piecing. I've seen some beautiful examples people have done recently showcased on their blogs and I decided to have a go.  

This was my attempt and I mounted it onto a little gift tag:

I think the stamps were a bit small really to show this technique off properly, and the photo really only shows up the glitter I added to the cake toppings.  They are patterned - really they are! 

I also attemped some fake stiching round the edge of the stamp but that didn't work out too well really - I think I put the holes too close together.

I've got some bigger christmas stamps that might work well with this and possbily some fairies that may work - but would be a big faff to cut out!  Looks like I'll have to invest in some more stamps!

Thanks for reading! x

Good Luck

Here's a card I made to wish my little sister Good Luck in her new job. She graduated in the summer and she's started her first proper job this week. I'm really pleased for her.

I've covered chipboard letters with different papers.  Cutting them out was a bit of a pain, so I can't wait for my birthday as I'm supposed to  be getting a Big Shot!!!!

I think I'll enter this card in to a few challenges:

Little Claire's Designs - Anything Goes
My Grafico - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking!  x

Dreaming of a Craft Room....

I think this is something that many crafters aspire to - I'd love a little room just for me to use to make cards so I can get organised and leave projects out to pick up later on. 

For the minute I'm storing all my bits and bobs in a set of drawers and a couple of boxes and doing my making on the dining room table:

This was my dining room table this morning - I managed to grab an hour while my little one had a nap.   Unfortunately our dining room table does get used for eating and it always seems such a chore to get all my bits out, have a poke through to find what I want and then have to clear them all away an hour later. 

Plus as my little boy is currently learning to feed himself - everything has to be put away otherwise, like today when I though I'd do some colouring while he finished his lunch I ended up with a sticky handprint on the page as it was just within his reach (his arms must have grown when I wasn't looking).

Anyway at least I've been doing some crafting; today I was mainly practicing stamping images.  I am rubbish at stamping, really rubbish - fuzzy edges, missed sections, too much ink, unevenness - you name it I bodge it. But through the lovely people on the Craftsforum.co.uk I've found loads of tips and useful info and am determined to get better at it. 

I've been mainly stamping Christmas images as that's what most of my stamps are, and I do seem to be getting better.  The best two tips from the website that work for me are to use a fine liner to fill in any missing sections - why did I not think of this before - so at least the missing sections bit is resolved (or disguised!). The other tip is to stamp standing up - hardly rocket science but it really works works!!

My tip - which I may still get patented is if you don't have the right size acrylic block for your clear cling stamps you can improvise and use the lid from your ink pad instead!  Amazing!

And to finish this post some good news for me as I have 12 followers on my blog now - how exciting!  So here's a big Hello to Silver Thistle Beads & Dreamstar68. 

x

Super Secret Valentines Flop ....

I posted yesterday about my Super Secret Valentine Present and how my plans for the afternoon were to finish it off.

The present was a little fold up photo album and all I needed to do was to put in some pictures and write a few notes in it.  Off I went in search of our old photos from when we first got together and I spent ages looking for them - but couldn't find them.

So I started to panic a bit knowing that he would be home soon and I had nothing to give him.

Last week I bought a pack of valentines sweets for us to share in the evening called LUV TXTS, think love hearts but a modern, chewy, gummy, and surprisingly tasty version, and so I thought I'd make a quick box to put the sweets in.  I'd seen this tutorial a couple of weeks earlier and saved it in my favourites for future reference and loosly followed the instructions to make the box.

As I had no patterned card or paper suitable I used some black card and heat embossed some clear and red hearts onto the card.  Then as I had only loosely followed the instructions I had to find something to stop the box and lid coming apart as the lid was too big  /box to small. So a rummage through my craft drawers found some paper wire to tie it up. 

And the end result: pretty poor, I really should have made more effort with the paper wire, perhaps using a double thickness as it's far to thin with the chunky box but by that time it was 6pm he was due home shortly, two darling children were begging for my attention and wanting to be fed. 

Anyway here's the end result of my sorry sob story: 

My school report for this says must try harder.  I'd like to say I'll learn my lesson and not leave things to the last minute in future - but I doubt it.

As for the Super Secret Valentines Present, I need to enlist his help to find the photos, I've shown him the empty album and he was very impressed with my handywork - so once it's finished I'll post a photo.

xx

The Super Secret Valentines Project - part 1.

I've been really rubbish these last couple of weeks  - downright lazy in fact so hopefully you'll all be giving me a virtual kick up the bottom to get me back on track. 

I have been working on a valentines project for my lovely husband - which I haven't been able to blog about as he reads this occasionally and I don't want to ruin the surprise. It's going well - but as it's valentines day today and I need to get a wiggle on and get it finished.

But I just though I'd quickly show you all my new toy I got it to use on the Super Secret Valentines Project- I'm like a child again...

Since I last posted I now have 10 followers!!  So I'd like to say HELLO to Doreen and Kat - I'll be popping over to visit your blogs soon.

Also one of my followers Irene has given me the Liebster blog award - which is so lovely of her - but I need to do a proper post all about that - but I didn't want her to think I was being rude ignoring her lovely present. You should have a look at Irene's lovely blog here.

So Happy Valentines Day to you all, my lovely husband is cooking tonight - so hopefully i'll be here to blog tomorrow!!  Only kidding!

x